Southland’s Arab-Americans Angered by FBI Queries : Terrorism: Agents are interviewing business and community leaders about possible Iraqi activity. Some fear the policy will fuel anti-Arab sentiment.

Arab-Americans in Orange County and throughout the Southland reacted with anger and confusion Tuesday to an announcement by the FBI that it has ordered agents across the country to interview business and community leaders of Arab descent about possible terrorist activities by Iraqis.

“There is no way we are going to know if Saddam (Hussein) is sending any people here to complete any action,” said Nazih Bayda, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Southern California. “It’s insulting,” he said.

Bayda said two FBI agents paid him a visit Monday in Los Angeles, asking him political questions such as: “Is the Palestinian community pro-Saddam?” He said the committee was scheduled to meet Tuesday night to discuss concerns over the FBI activity.

While there were no reports Tuesday of FBI agents contacting Arab-Americans in Orange County, news of the interviews drew widespread criticism from Arab-Americans in the county. Some fear the FBI’s actions will further fuel anti-Arab sentiment, which they say has been on the upswing since the outbreak of the conflict in the Persian Gulf.

The FBI announced earlier this week that it plans to conduct more than 100 interviews with Arab-Americans to try to gather information about possible Iraqi terrorist acts aimed at targets within the United States. FBI officials stressed that the interviews are voluntary and that those being contacted are not suspects.

Officials said the FBI is focusing on California and the Detroit area because of their large Arab-American populations. About 150,000 Arab-Americans live in Southern California, according to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Officials also said the agency seeks to assure Arab-Americans that their civil rights will be protected in the event of a backlash. However, critics charge that by singling out Arab-Americans, the FBI is encouraging discrimination and violence.

“They are questioning the loyalty of these people. I don’t consider this a form of protection, I consider it a form of intimidation,” said Nadia Bettindorf, a high school teacher of Palestinian descent who has lived in La Habra since 1974. “It’s the 1940s with the Japanese all over again.”

Officials with the FBI office in Los Angeles’ Westwood area refused to talk about the interviews or disclose how many people had been contacted. “I can’t comment on that,” FBI spokesman Jim Neilson said. “That came from headquarters.”

Meanwhile, across Orange County, Arab immigrants angrily questioned the government’s intentions.

“I would say that I am no different from any other businessman and I have nothing to contribute,” said Zac Sidawi, 54, an engineer who has lived in Orange for 18 years. “The bad part is this could contribute to anti-Arab sentiment, and they are targeting people who are really no different from anyone else,” said Sidawi, a Palestinian-American.

Ahmad Zahzah, a 37-year-old mortgage broker from Mission Viejo, suggested that if the FBI is truly interested in getting an Arab perspective on the Persian Gulf conflict, agents should interview people who live in Arab countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Kuwait.

“Maybe the feelings of those people over there should be better understood,” Zahzah said. “These people over here are leading a different life.”

Sami Odeh, an Orange real estate agent whose brother, Alex, was killed in a terrorist bomb blast at his Santa Ana office five years ago, agrees: “Because of negative media reporting, there seems to be a connection between Arab-Americans and terrorism. (But) when people talk of Arab-Americans, I would hope that they think of people like John H. Sununu . . . Ralph Nader.”

Times staff writer Mark Landsbaum contributed to this report.